Belfast’s Deputy Lord Mayor has criticised the City Council as “unrepresentative” and argued new remote technology is key in encouraging women, disabled persons, carers and those with long term illnesses into politics.
Alliance Councillor and Deputy Lord Mayor Michelle Kelly at the most recent meeting of the full council forwarded a motion celebrating the new technology as an opportunity to further democratise and broaden political representation, and calling on Stormont to extend legislation.
Councils were provided with flexibility to hold meetings by remote or hybrid means through legislation introduced during the pandemic by the Stomont Department for Communities. The legislation is in place until the end of September and the department has consulted on council’s views on the technology.
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Councillor Kelly told the chamber: “Although this council has responded to the consultation on a positive basis, I believe the chamber should send a clear message that hybrid meetings should remain a permanent feature, particularly as other councils are reverting back to complete face-to-face meetings.
“Companies and organisations across the UK and Ireland have come to recognise the importance of hybrid meetings and realise the importance of keeping it in place going forward, as we hopefully emerge from the pandemic. There is no reason political institutions can't also.
“Representation matters - this chamber is not representative of our population. While hybrid working will clearly not provide all the answers to all of this, it does bring down the barriers that do deter and prevent some people entering into elected politics, or stay in politics.”
She added: “The ability to take part remotely undoubtedly helps new mothers for example. Former Councillor Julie Anne Corr Johnston vividly reflected in a recent BBC interview that she felt she had no choice but to come into the chamber just days after giving birth to twins by Caesarean section.
“As she stated, while some of us are certainly lucky to have colleagues to help us out, we also have a huge duty to our constituents, and we want to represent them as we are elected to do. If you are breastfeeding you really have no choice but to bring your baby into the chamber with you.
“Hybrid working means that another way is possible, and I believe that it makes politics more appealing to mothers and indeed fathers of young children. It also opens the door for disabled people, carers, and people with long-term illnesses - when they might otherwise have felt excluded.
“It is so incredibly important that we engage and make it possible for a broader demographic with vital skills and experience to contribute positively to our politics. We must improve the conditions to make this possible because we need their voices around the table, and especially around this chamber.”
The motion states: “This council supports taking measures to encourage a broader demographic to stand for, become elected, and remain as local Councillors.
“It recognises that hybrid meetings enable easier participation from those with young families and caring responsibilities and disabled people, amongst others, therefore, they are more likely to consider elected roles.
“The council, therefore, supports maintaining a mixture of online and in-person access to meetings. Notwithstanding the outcome of the recent call for evidence from the Department of Communities on remote/hybrid meetings, the council will write to that department expressing its desire for the ability to continue to hold both full council and committee meetings in hybrid form.”
New Alliance Councillor Christine Bower seconded the motion, while addressing the chamber on Google Teams from Wales. She said it would not only help with broader political representation, but would also broaden public involvement during meetings. The motion received unanimous cross-party agreement.
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